CAN YOU DO THIS?
by time4stories
Summary: Kaoru was very disappointed in her boyfriend because of his lack of affection. What will she do?Not apart of my last series totally different! AU
1. Chapter 1

AN HERE'S MY NEXT ONESHOT OF THE KK DUO BUT IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SETTING!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO ROURONI KENSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO

Inside the apartment was total darkness. The couches in the living room were placed to face the television that was against the wall. Pictures were placed on the coffee table in the center. Nothing seemed out of place, and yet nothing is as it seems.

A small glow could be seen under the door inside the kitchen across the room and inside of the kitchen was all the utensils needed for a kitchen and there was a door right after the dishwasher. And under that door, the light grew even brighter.

The next room was a dining room with a nice crème tone paint that was highlighted by the dying light from the candle. The table was set for two and the two candles on said table were almost done to a stub. Surrounding the candle, were food that seemed to have gone cold and untouched.

Sitting at the head of the circular table, was Kaoru Kamiya. She was dressed up for this dinner in a beautiful strapped dress and wore a nice pair of sapphire earrings. Her hair was up in a nice do that allowed one small piece of hair to trail down her face. She looked fit for a nice, romantic, dinner.

All she got was disappointment.

She gave a sigh before looking at the clock on the right wall and noticed that her guess was more than two hours late. Kaoru had to replace the other two candles with new ones and even they were almost gone.

Since she was alone she was allowed to look sad and disappointed, 'Where are you Kenshin?'

Finally resigned, and with on last sigh, she stood and began to clear the table. 'All those cooking lessons that I took have gone to waste.'

'Don't worry; perhaps he had something going on at the office that kept him detained.' And then with another look at the clock she gave a snort, 'Yeah right, a meeting at ten o'clock? Perhaps he just forgot.'

When she came to the food, she just tossed them into the garbage bag, 'I love you like nothing else, he says.'

Dumped the plates into the sink, not caring if they broke from the harsh toss, 'Would never even think of hurting you, he says.'

As she turned to dry the first plate she began to think of _him_, and wondered if they were truly meant to be.

_Flashback_

_She was currently at college, finishing her final year when she met him. _

_He was the tall, muscular, popular guy that all the girls vied for. Kenshin was about a head taller than she was and he had that intimidating posture about himself that made all the guys back off when he was angry._

_They met when she started going to a certain coffee house during her Senior year. He, supposedly went there all the time, and during one of their trips to that coffee house, they bumped into each other thus causing the others drinks to fall to the ground._

_"Hey watch it!" she wasn't having at all that good of a day and this bone head was not making it any better, "do you see what you just did?!" she had to tilt her head at an angle in order to look him in the eye._

_"I suppose this is where you think that I would apologize?" he had his brow raised and gave her that sarcastic look. They didn't even realize that people stopped and stared at them until after their confrontation._

_"Actually, yes it is."_

_"Well, what do I get in return?"_

_Surprise could easily be registered on her face, this wasn't expected, "What do you mean, you're giving me an apology not a favor."_

_He shook his head, eyes closed but only for a moment, "I have to spend my time to apologize, and would like to know what I get for my trouble."_

_Anger was an emotion that she could easily deal with, not confusion, "How lazy are you exactly?"_

_"Shouldn't the question be, 'What did you have in mind for me to do?' "_

_She took a step back when he leaned in a bit too much for her liking, "Listen, all I want is a simple 'I'm sorry', not some large extravagant present!"_

_"Do you go to Tenniston University?" (made the college up)_

_"Yes… why?" she was beginning to feel suspicious of his questioning._

_"hmm… you live on campus don't you?" _

_Confusion was in full gear about then, "Why should I tell you."_

_"You are a Senior so I suppose that you would be in… o… Bethny dorm, right?" (I made that dorm up by the by!)_

_ "Again, why should I tell you?" him guessing right scared her._

_"I'll come over around eight to pick you up. Be down so we can go."_

_And all he did was turn around before looking over his shoulder and shouting back to her, "O yea, I'm sorry!"_

_End flashback_

She remembered, since she was hard headed at the time, that she didn't come down at the time he ordered her to. So he had to get her friend Misao to drag her down.

During that forced dinner, she learned a lot about him. Like how he was determined to run his father's business to the best of his abilities and how he didn't like to joke around about his work. They also had a lot in common since they both enjoyed certain books and music. Before they knew it the restaurant was closing and they had to leave.

They continued to date throughout their last year of college and grew closer with each time they spent together. Kaoru was, shockingly enough, was the more affectionate one of the relationship while Kenshin was the protective common sense one.

It has been three years since they have started this relationship, and in those three years, Kaoru has learned to love and trust… but she doesn't feel as if Kenshin learned the same things she has.

He still closes off to her and doesn't tell her anything of what he wants, he also had a habit of all but ditching her on their date or going off to talk on his cell phone in the middle of dinner. Kaoru never had a problem with it before because she knew that his work was important to him and that didn't bother her, but now all she can think of 'Is work more important than me?'

Kenshin didn't seem at all pleased with her anymore. It was as if he didn't care about what she did or who she was with. It felt as if he wanted her gone. And tonight didn't help him at all if that thought was false.

Tears began to burn her eyes as she placed her hands on the counter and when she looked to her right, she saw the note that she received four days ago. Wanting to read it again, she lifted herself up and walked towards the envelope and opened it:

_Dear Miss Kaoru Kamiya,_

_We are proud to inform you that your application has been reviewed and accepted. We at Edition Inc. (made this up too) would like for you to call us when you have thought this through on whether or not you would like to come to California and work for us…_

She skipped a few lines and reread the end.

_Thank you again and we appreciate your hard work._

_Soujiro Seta_

_CEO_

The tear that she was holding back came rolling down as she turned and stared at her phone. 'Tomorrow she thought, I'll talk to Kenshin tomorrow and see where I go from there…'

* * *

In the afternoon, she decided she would go over to his office and speak to him; it would probably be the best time if any.

She took a cab into the city and came to a stop in front of a tall sky scraper with a steely blue color. It looked to be fifty stories high and tinted windows so that people would get the feeling of 'I can see you, but you can't see me'.

Walking into the building she could all ready feel the eyes of many people on her before she went into the elevator. Inside, she was mashed in with many other people and it was a struggle for her to just push the number forty-nine.

The wait in the elevator was awful because of all the people either talking to each other or on the phone, it made her feel even more lonely than she felt before. So she just looked at the digital numbers on the screen and waited for her number to show.

She knew that she would most likely be alone in the elevator, for Kenshin made sure that only a few select people were on the same floor as him, just so that he wouldn't be disturbed by any idiots.

When her ding came up she gave an audible sigh and walked out. As she walked towards his office, she noticed that people stopped what they were doing to look at her. It didn't unnerve her, for she was used to it. She just didn't want to acknowledge that she unnerved them.

Before walking in, she remembered to check in with his secretary Tomoe who was seven months along, this would be Akira's and Tomoe's second child so it was a time for celebration.

She gave her a brilliant smile, "Hello Tomoe, how is the baby coming along?"

The smile that Kaoru received seemed strained for some odd reason, "Fine thank you, are you here to see Kenshin?"

"Yes actually I am, it will be short though."

The smile then turned sympathetic, "Kaoru, listen, about last night… I'm sure it just slipped his mind-"

"Is he available Tomoe." She didn't wish to discuss her misfortunes with her boyfriends' secretary.

"Actually you caught him at a good time, just walk in." the sounded as if she understood, finally, someone who actually did.

But surprise came to her; usually Tomoe would inform Kenshin before she went in.

Tomoe caught the look, "Just go ahead, and don't worry about it. And just in case, I'll make sure to push his next appointment back to give you more time."

Tomoe was all ways Kaoru's favorite secretary, "Thank you." And then turned to walk into his office without knocking.

His office was large and intimidating, much like he was. It was painted with hues of red everywhere and his desk was a deep mahogany. She looked at him and noticed that he didn't lift his head from his computer screen.

"Tomoe, do you mind knocking next time."

"Do you mind calling me if you're not coming for my birthday dinner next time?"

His fingers stopped their typing all together and she noticed that he tensed suddenly; obviously he didn't want to talk to her yet. He then turned so that he faced her and gave her a look that could be described as horrified.

"I am so sorry, Kaoru." His eyes turned pained as he noticed she placed a shield up, 'I'm not going to let you hurt me' were all it said. "I swear that I'll make it up to you and I'll-"

"That's good and all, but you said this the last time you ditched me on our date." She took a deep breath as she then plopped down on the chair across from him, "Kenshin I need to know where we are going with this."

Silence filled the room, "I don't understand what you mean."

Kaoru opened her eyes and stared at his, as if begging him to actually understand, "We have been dating for quite some time and I wouldn't have minded if this was the first offense, but this has been a series of forgetfulness and rudeness. If you don't want to continue this relationship-"

He exploded, "What the hell are you talking about!"

She didn't flinch, "I'm talking about you Kenshin."

Silence again.

"If you can't make this relationship as important to you as it is to me, then I suppose that it would be a waste of my time to even try." Her words were what she was thinking about for a long time. It didn't lessen the hurt that these words caused her though.

He leaned back in his chair looking at her as if she grew another head. She wished she knew what he was thinking. But she didn't have to wait long for what he had his say.

"So you came to tell me that you feel it necessary to end this relationship?"

Her head shot up to look him in the eyes, she noticed that they were blank so that she couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling, and that hurt, "No that's not what I want. What I want is-"

"God damnit, you are so selfish." He shocked her, he never spoke to her that way, not ever, "I want this, I want that, I want every God damned thing in the universe to go my way! This isn't all about you Kaoru, it's about our relationship. So stop this pettiness and we'll talk some other time." He then turned to his computer and seemed to begin working.

Kaoru was confused; this wasn't how she wanted it to go. She wanted him to understand how she was feeling, not get confused by it, "Kenshin, if you would listen-"

"Kaoru, I'm done listening, so leave." He spoke in such a harsh tone that Kaoru finally had enough.

"Fine!" she stood up and grabbed her purse, "But before I go, I want to inform you that you may do whatever the hell you like, but make sure to not include me in it any longer. We're through!" then she fled  
through the door and didn't look back.

* * *

It has been five months since she last saw him. And yet she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She noticed that, while packing, he had called her several times. What she didn't know was why he didn't just come over to talk to her. She supposed that he only knew how to solve confrontations with her on the phone.

Her job made her focused on other things besides him during the day, but in the night she would lie awake wondering if he was thinking of her.

She went through all the 'what ifs' in her mind and found that it couldn't have gone any other way. Making Kenshin understand the hurt that he was causing her and understand that she couldn't take it anymore was important for their relationship, and obviously Kenshin didn't think along the same lines she did.

It took her two months before she went on small tiny dates. The only person she went out with more than once was actually her boss Soujiro.

He was such a kind man and made her feel very comfortable. It was painfully obvious that he was much more interested in her than she was with him. And although they had a blast with each other, she just didn't feel the same spark like the one she had with Kenshin. It was slightly difficult for her to explain this to Soujiro, but he seemed to understand and wanted to keep her as both an employee and a friend, which she gladly accepted.

Kaoru was just so happy when he gave her an office with a view of Los Angeles. The company's job was to arrange social events for celebrities and make sure that everything was taken care of. She loved the strange thrill that goes through her body whenever she finds out that her work was much more than satisfactory, it was fabulous.

Even though she had all this happiness surrounding her, she still couldn't forget him.

Turning away from her window she went back to her desk in order to look up her schedule. After making some phone calls she then began to stack her papers together when she suddenly heard her office door open.

And she felt her heart stop.

It was Kenshin.

The fact that he looked much more handsome than the last time she saw him didn't help matters at all.

He looked as if he worked out more, his arm muscles grew and seemed to slightly bulge against his rolled up light purple dress shirt. His slacks looked slightly wrinkled, as if he was on a seven hour plane ride. The shirt had three buttons loose and showed his chiseled chest to her, as if begging to be touched. His long red hair was placed up in a messy pony tail that left pieces flying out. And his amber eyes looked so tired that she didn't know why he didn't just fall over all ready.

"Kenshin." She was so proud of how she kept her voice neutral.

"Kaoru." He didn't have that luxury, "It was nice of you to inform me that you decided to leave and live across the continent. O wait, that's right, you didn't!"

After he yelled at her the first time, it didn't faze her as much the second, "I didn't know that I had to inform you."

"I wanted you to inform me so that I can tell you-"

"Kenshin, you are so God damned selfish 'I want this, I want that' nothing can all ways go the way you wanted them. Right Kenshin?" his words left a scar that she had a feeling won't heal anytime soon.

The look on his face clearly showed that he was upset he said this as well, "I suppose that his is where I apologize."

Taking a deep breath she turned her back to him.

"You have no idea how hard it was to get were you are located out of Megumi. It took all of my persuasive ways just to get her to tell me that you were on the West Coast." He gave a pause, "How long before you left did you know you would come here and take this job?"

"Four days before I spoke to you I got the letter in the mail from Soujiro. After our argument I decided to go and work here." She frowned at the scenery, "how did you find out I was here specifically?"

"I read through Megumi's emails." She felt shock and embarrassment when she remembered what she wrote in them, "So, are you and Soujiro close?"

She turned around then, "What do you want Kenshin, I doubt you came all the way here just for info about my love life."

"So he's apart of your love life." He had a growling tone to his voice.

"I'm getting tired of this," she then pointed to her door, "I'm sure you can show yourself out."

"No wait Kaoru listen to me." He took the pleading role quickly, "I'm sorry with the way that I have been acting; it's just that I have been having a hard time with work and everything lately that I haven't been giving you the attention that you deserved. When you left, Tomoe came in and gave me the tongue lashing that I rightly deserved. She made me realize that I was being selfish about the whole situation, not you. You didn't deserve anything that I said to you. I was wrong you were right.

The next day I tried calling you on your phone, but noticed that you were answering right away. I thought that I could give you a few days to think. I didn't know that I only gave you enough time to just pack up and leave though."

Silence went around them as he tried to gather his thoughts together.

"When I found out you left, I went crazy. I looked all over for you. I had thought that you went to Misao's but found from her that you moved out of town. She told me what an asshole that I have been to you and made me realize how much of a damned fool I was and am. I understand that you deserve better than me, but I know that I could make you the happiest woman alive. Just give me one last chance Kaoru. Just one and I promise you that you won't regret it."

After listening to what he had to say, she began to feel her resolve melting, but not completely.

"What made you forget my birthday dinner? How are you going to make up for that?"

He looked at her and seemed to have suddenly turn nervous, "I know that this seems a little belated but..."

Kenshin then walked over to her and knelt on one knee in front of her after grabbing the velvet box from his pants. "Kaoru Kamiya, will you marry me?"

A multitude of thoughts went through her mid just then, and all she could think of was…

"Yes!"

He had the happiest smile on his face before he jumped up and grabbed her around the waste and began to kiss her with all the love and happiness that he could muster.

"I love you" he said against her lips and she responded with more passion as they fell to her office floor.

That goes to show to Kaoru that her story factually got that happy ending.

The End


	2. REMIX

A READER HAS BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION THAT I GAVE KENSHIN A CHANGE A LITTLE TOO SOON, AND I AGREED WITH HIM/HER.

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU ALWYZME

AN HERE'S MY NEXT ONESHOT OF THE KK DUO BUT IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SETTING!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO ROURONI KENSHIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

CAN YOU DO THIS

Inside the apartment was total darkness. The couches in the living room were placed to face the television that was against the wall. Pictures were placed on the coffee table in the center. Nothing seemed out of place, and yet nothing is as it seems.

A small glow could be seen under the door inside the kitchen across the room and inside of the kitchen was all the utensils needed for a kitchen and there was a door right after the dishwasher. And under that door, the light grew even brighter.

The next room was a dining room with a nice crème tone paint that was highlighted by the dying light from the candle. The table was set for two and the two candles on said table were almost done to a stub. Surrounding the candle, were food that seemed to have gone cold and untouched.

Sitting at the head of the circular table, was Kaoru Kamiya. She was dressed up for this dinner in a beautiful strapped dress and wore a nice pair of sapphire earrings. Her hair was up in a nice do that allowed one small piece of hair to trail down her face. She looked fit for a nice, romantic, dinner.

All she got was disappointment.

She gave a sigh before looking at the clock on the right wall and noticed that her guess was more than two hours late. Kaoru had to replace the other two candles with new ones and even they were almost gone.

Since she was alone she was allowed to look sad and disappointed, 'Where are you Kenshin?'

Finally resigned, and with on last sigh, she stood and began to clear the table. 'All those cooking lessons that I took have gone to waste.'

'Don't worry; perhaps he had something going on at the office that kept him detained.' And then with another look at the clock she gave a snort, 'Yeah right, a meeting at ten o'clock? Perhaps he just forgot.'

When she came to the food, she just tossed them into the garbage bag, 'I love you like nothing else, he says.'

Dumped the plates into the sink, not caring if they broke from the harsh toss, 'Would never even think of hurting you, he says.'

As she turned to dry the first plate she began to think of _him_, and wondered if they were truly meant to be.

_Flashback_

_She was currently at college, finishing her final year when she met him. _

_He was the tall, muscular, popular guy that all the girls vied for. Kenshin was about a head taller than she was and he had that intimidating posture about himself that made all the guys back off when he was angry._

_They met when she started going to a certain coffee house during her Senior year. He, supposedly went there all the time, and during one of their trips to that coffee house, they bumped into each other thus causing the others drinks to fall to the ground._

_"Hey watch it!" she wasn't having at all that good of a day and this bone head was not making it any better, "do you see what you just did?!" she had to tilt her head at an angle in order to look him in the eye._

_"I suppose this is where you think that I would apologize?" he had his brow raised and gave her that sarcastic look. They didn't even realize that people stopped and stared at them until after their confrontation._

_"Actually, yes it is."_

_"Well, what do I get in return?"_

_Surprise could easily be registered on her face, this wasn't expected, "What do you mean, you're giving me an apology not a favor."_

_He shook his head, eyes closed but only for a moment, "I have to spend my time to apologize, and would like to know what I get for my trouble."_

_Anger was an emotion that she could easily deal with, not confusion, "How lazy are you exactly?"_

_"Shouldn't the question be, 'What did you have in mind for me to do?' "_

_She took a step back when he leaned in a bit too much for her liking, "Listen, all I want is a simple 'I'm sorry', not some large extravagant present!"_

_"Do you go to Tenniston University?" (made the college up)_

_"Yes… why?" she was beginning to feel suspicious of his questioning._

_"hmm… you live on campus don't you?" _

_Confusion was in full gear about then, "Why should I tell you."_

_"You are a Senior so I suppose that you would be in… o… Bethny dorm, right?" (I made that dorm up by the by!)_

_ "Again, why should I tell you?" him guessing right scared her._

_"I'll come over around eight to pick you up. Be down so we can go."_

_And all he did was turn around before looking over his shoulder and shouting back to her, "O yea, I'm sorry!"_

_End flashback_

She remembered, since she was hard headed at the time, that she didn't come down at the time he ordered her to. So he had to get her friend Misao to drag her down.

During that forced dinner, she learned a lot about him. Like how he was determined to run his father's business to the best of his abilities and how he didn't like to joke around about his work. They also had a lot in common since they both enjoyed certain books and music. Before they knew it the restaurant was closing and they had to leave.

They continued to date throughout their last year of college and grew closer with each time they spent together. Kaoru was, shockingly enough, was the more affectionate one of the relationship while Kenshin was the protective common sense one.

It has been three years since they have started this relationship, and in those three years, Kaoru has learned to love and trust… but she doesn't feel as if Kenshin learned the same things she has.

He still closes off to her and doesn't tell her anything of what he wants, he also had a habit of all but ditching her on their date or going off to talk on his cell phone in the middle of dinner. Kaoru never had a problem with it before because she knew that his work was important to him and that didn't bother her, but now all she can think of 'Is work more important than me?'

Kenshin didn't seem at all pleased with her anymore. It was as if he didn't care about what she did or who she was with. It felt as if he wanted her gone. And tonight didn't help him at all if that thought was false.

Tears began to burn her eyes as she placed her hands on the counter and when she looked to her right, she saw the note that she received four days ago. Wanting to read it again, she lifted herself up and walked towards the envelope and opened it:

_Dear Miss Kaoru Kamiya,_

_We are proud to inform you that your application has been reviewed and accepted. We at Edition Inc. (made this up too) would like for you to call us when you have thought this through on whether or not you would like to come to California and work for us…_

She skipped a few lines and reread the end.

_Thank you again and we appreciate your hard work._

_Soujiro Seta_

_CEO_

The tear that she was holding back came rolling down as she turned and stared at her phone. 'Tomorrow she thought, I'll talk to Kenshin tomorrow and see where I go from there…'

* * *

In the afternoon, she decided she would go over to his office and speak to him; it would probably be the best time if any.

She took a cab into the city and came to a stop in front of a tall sky scraper with a steely blue color. It looked to be fifty stories high and tinted windows so that people would get the feeling of 'I can see you, but you can't see me'.

Walking into the building she could all ready feel the eyes of many people on her before she went into the elevator. Inside, she was mashed in with many other people and it was a struggle for her to just push the number forty-nine.

The wait in the elevator was awful because of all the people either talking to each other or on the phone, it made her feel even more lonely than she felt before. So she just looked at the digital numbers on the screen and waited for her number to show.

She knew that she would most likely be alone in the elevator, for Kenshin made sure that only a few select people were on the same floor as him, just so that he wouldn't be disturbed by any idiots.

When her ding came up she gave an audible sigh and walked out. As she walked towards his office, she noticed that people stopped what they were doing to look at her. It didn't unnerve her, for she was used to it. She just didn't want to acknowledge that she unnerved them.

Before walking in, she remembered to check in with his secretary Tomoe who was seven months along, this would be Akira's and Tomoe's second child so it was a time for celebration.

She gave her a brilliant smile, "Hello Tomoe, how is the baby coming along?"

The smile that Kaoru received seemed strained for some odd reason, "Fine thank you, are you here to see Kenshin?"

"Yes actually I am, it will be short though."

The smile then turned sympathetic, "Kaoru, listen, about last night… I'm sure it just slipped his mind-"

"Is he available Tomoe." She didn't wish to discuss her misfortunes with her boyfriends' secretary.

"Actually you caught him at a good time, just walk in." the sounded as if she understood, finally, someone who actually did.

But surprise came to her; usually Tomoe would inform Kenshin before she went in.

Tomoe caught the look, "Just go ahead, and don't worry about it. And just in case, I'll make sure to push his next appointment back to give you more time."

Tomoe was all ways Kaoru's favorite secretary, "Thank you." And then turned to walk into his office without knocking.

His office was large and intimidating, much like he was. It was painted with hues of red everywhere and his desk was a deep mahogany. She looked at him and noticed that he didn't lift his head from his computer screen.

"Tomoe, do you mind knocking next time."

"Do you mind calling me if you're not coming for my birthday dinner next time?"

His fingers stopped their typing all together and she noticed that he tensed suddenly; obviously he didn't want to talk to her yet. He then turned so that he faced her and gave her a look that could be described as horrified.

"I am so sorry, Kaoru." His eyes turned pained as he noticed she placed a shield up, 'I'm not going to let you hurt me' were all it said. "I swear that I'll make it up to you and I'll-"

"That's good and all, but you said this the last time you ditched me on our date." She took a deep breath as she then plopped down on the chair across from him, "Kenshin I need to know where we are going with this."

Silence filled the room, "I don't understand what you mean."

Kaoru opened her eyes and stared at his, as if begging him to actually understand, "We have been dating for quite some time and I wouldn't have minded if this was the first offense, but this has been a series of forgetfulness and rudeness. If you don't want to continue this relationship-"

He exploded, "What the hell are you talking about!"

She didn't flinch, "I'm talking about you Kenshin."

Silence again.

"If you can't make this relationship as important to you as it is to me, then I suppose that it would be a waste of my time to even try." Her words were what she was thinking about for a long time. It didn't lessen the hurt that these words caused her though.

He leaned back in his chair looking at her as if she grew another head. She wished she knew what he was thinking. But she didn't have to wait long for what he had his say.

"So you came to tell me that you feel it necessary to end this relationship?"

Her head shot up to look him in the eyes, she noticed that they were blank so that she couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling, and that hurt, "No that's not what I want. What I want is-"

"God damnit, you are so selfish." He shocked her, he never spoke to her that way, not ever, "I want this, I want that, I want every God damned thing in the universe to go my way! This isn't all about you Kaoru, it's about our relationship. So stop this pettiness and we'll talk some other time." He then turned to his computer and seemed to begin working.

Kaoru was confused; this wasn't how she wanted it to go. She wanted him to understand how she was feeling, not get confused by it, "Kenshin, if you would listen-"

"Kaoru, I'm done listening, so leave." He spoke in such a harsh tone that Kaoru finally had enough.

"Fine!" she stood up and grabbed her purse, "But before I go, I want to inform you that you may do whatever the hell you like, but make sure to not include me in it any longer. We're through!" then she fled  
through the door and didn't look back.

* * *

It has been five months since she last saw him. And yet she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She noticed that, while packing, he had called her several times. What she didn't know was why he didn't just come over to talk to her. She supposed that he only knew how to solve confrontations with her on the phone.

Her job made her focused on other things besides him during the day, but in the night she would lie awake wondering if he was thinking of her.

She went through all the 'what ifs' in her mind and found that it couldn't have gone any other way. Making Kenshin understand the hurt that he was causing her and understand that she couldn't take it anymore was important for their relationship, and obviously Kenshin didn't think along the same lines she did.

It took her two months before she went on small tiny dates. The only person she went out with more than once was actually her boss Soujiro.

He was such a kind man and made her feel very comfortable. It was painfully obvious that he was much more interested in her than she was with him. And although they had a blast with each other, she just didn't feel the same spark like the one she had with Kenshin. It was slightly difficult for her to explain this to Soujiro, but he seemed to understand and wanted to keep her as both an employee and a friend, which she gladly accepted.

Kaoru was just so happy when he gave her an office with a view of Los Angeles. The company's job was to arrange social events for celebrities and make sure that everything was taken care of. She loved the strange thrill that goes through her body whenever she finds out that her work was much more than satisfactory, it was fabulous.

Even though she had all this happiness surrounding her, she still couldn't forget him.

Turning away from her window she went back to her desk in order to look up her schedule. After making some phone calls she then began to stack her papers together when she suddenly heard her office door open.

And she felt her heart stop.

It was Kenshin.

The fact that he looked much more handsome than the last time she saw him didn't help matters at all.

He looked as if he worked out more, his arm muscles grew and seemed to slightly bulge against his rolled up light purple dress shirt. His slacks looked slightly wrinkled, as if he was on a seven hour plane ride. The shirt had three buttons loose and showed his chiseled chest to her, as if begging to be touched. His long red hair was placed up in a messy pony tail that left pieces flying out. And his amber eyes looked so tired that she didn't know why he didn't just fall over all ready.

"Kenshin." She was so proud of how she kept her voice neutral.

"Kaoru." He didn't have that luxury, "It was nice of you to inform me that you decided to leave and live across the continent. O wait, that's right, you didn't!"

After he yelled at her the first time, it didn't faze her as much the second, "I didn't know that I had to let my ex-boyfriend in on my life anymore."

The wince that went across his face almost made her feel guilty, almost "I wanted you to inform me so that I can tell you-"

"Kenshin, you are so God damned selfish 'I want this, I want that' nothing can all ways go the way you wanted them. Right Kenshin?" his words left a scar that she had a feeling won't heal anytime soon.

The look on his face clearly showed that he was upset he said this as well, "I suppose that this is where I apologize."

Taking a deep breath she turned her back to him.

"You have no idea how hard it was to get were you are located out of Megumi. It took all of my persuasive ways just to get her to tell me that you were on the West Coast." He gave a pause, "How long before you left did you know you would come here and take this job?"

"Four days before I spoke to you I got the letter in the mail from Soujiro. After our argument I decided to come and work here." She frowned at the scenery, "how did you find out I was here specifically?"

"I read through Megumi's emails." She felt shock, anger, and embarrassment when she remembered what she wrote in them, "So, are you and Soujiro close?"

She turned around then, "What do you want Kenshin, I doubt you came all the way here just for info about my love life, or is that the only reason you came, because you felt that you have lost me to another."

"So he's apart of your love life." He had a growling tone to his voice.

"I'm getting tired of this conversation and you," she then pointed to her door, "I'm sure you can show yourself out."

"No wait Kaoru listen to me."

"There is nothing to listen to Kenshin. You have been nothing but cruel and cold towards me and I can take it no longer." She closed her eyes for a moment to stop the tears from flowing, "You have done nothing but ignore me when we were together. On my birthday Kenshin you forced me to stay home waiting for you only to have you not come! I took cooking lessons just to make you something nice for I had a feeling that you were going through a bad month. But instead you gift me with your harsh words, thank you and good bye Kenshin!"

"No please" He took the pleading role quickly, "I'm sorry with the way that I have been acting; it's just that I have been having a hard time with work and everything lately and I know I haven't been giving you the attention that you deserved. When you left, Tomoe came in and gave me the tongue lashing that I rightly deserved." His eyes closed for a second as his tone went softer, "She made me realize that I was being selfish about the whole situation, not you. You didn't deserve anything that I said to you. I was wrong you were right.

The next day I tried calling you on your phone, but noticed that you were not answering. I thought that I could give you a few days to think. I didn't know that I only gave you enough time to just pack up and leave though."

Silence went around them as he tried to gather his thoughts together.

"When I found out you left, I went crazy. I looked all over for you. I had thought that you went to Misao's but found from her that you moved out of town. She told me what an asshole that I have been to you and made me realize how much of a damned fool I was and am. I understand that you deserve better than me, but I know that I could make you the happiest woman alive. Just give me one last chance Kaoru. Just one and I promise you that you won't regret it."

After listening to what he had to say, she began to feel her resolve melting, but not completely.

"What about when you forget my birthday dinner? How are you going to make up for that?"

He looked at her and seemed to have suddenly turn nervous, "I know that this seems a little belated but..."

Kenshin then walked over to her and knelt on one knee in front of her after grabbing the velvet box from his pants. "Kaoru Kamiya, will you marry me?"

A multitude of thoughts went through her mid just then, and all she could think of was…

"No."

He held a look of hurt on his face as he fell foreword onto his hands and knees.

"Why?" his voice held a battered tone, as if she struck him, "I apologized, I declared my love for you," he looked up and she could see the amber swirling in confusion, "I came across this continent just for you… Why do you still say no?"

Kaoru felt sympathy before she fell onto her knees before him and placed his face in between her two hands, "Kenshin, marriage won't solve anything. You still need to prove to me that you can change your habits towards me and what would we do about our living arrangements? You still live in New York while I in California. It just wouldn't be possible." She leaned her forehead against his as she softly whispered to him, "I'm not saying no forever, just merely until I know you can handle this."

Silence settled over them. They took the other into their presence after all their time apart. Then Kenshin moved his hand behind her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

"Then I shall prove myself to you. Don't worry about living arrangements, I shall take care of that." Before she could interrupt him he then nibbled on her bottom lip and started to unbutton her shirt.

"Kenshin." She meant to scold him but came out as a moan, "We can't do this here…"

"Your boss told me that you are alone up here, and that he won't disturb until I informed him that we are done… talking." He chuckled when she leaned herself fully against him.

She knew that they had a long road ahead of them…

But that didn't mean it wouldn't be enjoyable.

The ENd


End file.
